The Sprout
Spring blossom at the allotments
The Newsletter for North Hinksey & Botley
Issue 155 March 2021
The Sprout
The Newsletter for North Hinksey & Botley
Directors: Janet Bartlam, Judi Bolder, John Clements,
Michael Cockman, Ag MacKeith, Robin Palmer
Editor
Ag MacKeith
South View House, Old Botley, OX2 0JR Tel: 724452 Editor@TheSprout.org.uk
Advertising Manager
Michael Cockman
50, St Paul's Crescent OX2 9AG Tel: 07766 317691 Adverts@TheSprout.org.uk
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delivered to your door. Contact: Carol Kramer 01865 243002.
Whilst every effort is made to ensure the accuracy of information printed in this
newsletter, mistakes may happen. The Editor and Team apologize unreservedly for
any errors that may occur and will do their best to correct them. This publication is not
a vehicle of the parish council, and parish councillors working with the Sprout do so in
a personal capacity. Opinions expressed are the opinions of the individual
contributors.
All concerned in the production and delivery of The Sprout are unpaid volunteers.
The Sprout is printed by Dataprint Ltd, and published by North
Hinksey Parish Publications Ltd, (a company limited by
guarantee) Registration No. 05609535.
It can also be found online at BotleyHinksey.org.uk
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The Sprout
Issue 155, March 2021
Contents
5 Letters to the Editor
7 Sprout grants
9 Women’s Work
15 Annual Parish Meeting
17 Senior Hampers
21 4th Oxford Scouts
25 Covid Vaccine Survey
27 Flood Scheme revisited
31 Kennington Memory Club
32 Botley’s green Spaces
37 Keeping Going in Lockdown
38 Sprout AGM
39 Scammers Out to Get You
40 Randoms
41 Volunteer Vaccine Helpers
42 Planning Applications
43 New Covid test centre
44 Local organizations
From the Editor
Welcome to the March Sprout, keeping you in touch with what’s
happening in Botley. What’s topical this month? Covid-related:
Oxfordshire Healthwatch wants to know what you think of the vaccine
(p25) and a new testing centre to supply fast and free tests to people in
work has opened in Wantage (p43). Volunteers have been driving people
to their jabs in Kennington (p41), and people have been finding things to
keep themselves entertained in Lockdown (p37). Some have managed to
make a business of it, and we celebrate International Women’s Day on 8th
March with tales of two enterprising women who have found a niche to
supply (p9).The 4th Scouts are disappointed by the Pavilion plans on
page 21, and locals are still unconvinced by the Flood Scheme (p27). On
16th March you can Zoom in to the Sprout AGM deferred from last
summer (p38), and on 18th it’s that once-a-year chance to talk to the
Parish Council about their plans for the Upper Field and anything else
you want to raise at the Annual Parish Meeting (p15) also via Zoom. Our
letters page (p5) urges us to involve older teenagers in running things –
the Sprout has always supported this, and would very much welcome
some youthful input to our pages. If you or anyone you know would like a
column, let me know! Happy reading – the next issue should be in print.
Ag MacKeith
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Letters to the Editor
Challenge to the local community
I felt I needed to write to express my concern over the paucity of provision
for young people in our community. This is not new but is exacerbated by
the current pandemic. By young people I am referring to those moving
through adolescence and thus speaking broadly about the 13–19 age
group (and older for young people with learning disabilities). Provision in
our community has always been sparse and with the closure of Branches
Café and the demise of the Scout Group on Arnolds Way support has just
reduced further. Coming into a relaxation of lockdown, we need to think
about how we engage with our young people as the future of our
community.
The 13–19 year old group is often neglected. These young people are both
diverse, with some finding their way seamlessly through adolescence
whilst many struggle and need support. The tension between physical
changes through puberty and the much later development of the brain
make adolescence what it is – a time for risk taking without internal
moderation, challenge to authority and difficulty in finding their role with
adults. Poor mental health, unsafe sex, drug and alcohol misuse,
breakdown of relationships, both within the peer group but also with
parents and school, are all symptomatic of adolescence. The prevalence of
these issues and behaviours are higher in this age group than in any other
and make this period of young lives unsettled, difficult, sometimes troubled
and often acrimonious. Added to this mix has been the pandemic: young
people deprived of mixing with peers, school operating only on-line, stress
at home, a reduction in employment opportunities for post 16s and for
some the meaninglessness of a gap year before university.
Young people are the group most often feared in the local community,
adults fearful of the local shops after dark, fearful of passing teenagers
who are loud and unruly, and now fearful that young people are not
complying with lockdown rules. The community has a responsibility to think
about how it responds to young people, how it is supporting them through
adolescence to become respected adult members of our community.
The Positive Activities in Leisure Time for Young people (13–19 years and
up to 25 years for those with learning disabilities) legislation came
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into being in 2006. Whilst not directly imposing a duty on local authorities
at any level to provide positive activities, it did lay out the need for young
people to be supported in their local community. The legislation talked
about both recreational and educational provision, highlighting the need for
both outside the formal school, college or work setting. Educational
provision is defined as personal and social development opportunities,
planned input to challenge young people’s thoughts and actions, to enable
young people to seek out appropriate information and most importantly to
use this information effectively. Provision may be through a range of media
that involves and inspires young people to become engaged including
offering positive adult role models.
We urgently need to think about how we respond to this need for our
young people in Botley; whilst this is a big challenge for all of us, we need
to embrace what we currently have, albeit limited, rather than alienate or
set young people’s groups up in opposition. We need to strengthen a
cohesive community offer to help ensure we have responsible and active
members of the community for the future.
How can the community get behind this? How can young people
themselves become involved? – a Youth Parish Council perhaps?
Ruth Ashwell
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SPROUT grants
The Sprout still has some money to give away. So far, we have been
able to support the Friends of Botley School’s Laptop Appeal and
give Food for Charities money towards the expenses of their many
volunteers. If a couple of hundred pounds or so would make all the
difference to your community venture, of whatever kind, please do
get in touch via the editor’s email (Editor@TheSprout.org.uk) and if
we can reasonably help you, we will. All grants are at the Directors’
discretion, but they come with the minimum of form-filling and
bureaucratic fuss. The money is there, but you will have to ask! We
look forward to hearing from you!
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Women’s Work: A Sprout Special
for International Women’s Day (March 8th)
No crisis without a positive spinoff, they say...well, admittedly, in the case
of our current pandemic, you need to s-t-t-t-r-r-r-r-r-r-e-t-c-h your imagina-
tion. But here at the Botley Farmers Market we've got walking cooking
proof in the form of Becca Howard, who runs the Oxford Pizza Project in
her spare time; she is a full time sales rep
during the week. When lockdown began
last Spring, Becca began making pizzas
from home in the rural area where she lives
near Oxford, catering for friends, family and
neighbours. Almost immediately, demand
spiralled beyond the limits of her conven-
tional domestic oven, so she did her re-
search and bought a specialist gas-fired
pizza oven which produces results in 60
seconds. Becca proceeded to secure
pitches first at Appleton and then at Botley
Farmers Market, where today she is a fa-
miliar smiling face... and she reiterates that
she would probably never have launched such a project were it not for
lockdown.
Authenticity is the word at the Oxford Pizza Project: Becca says that “the
dough prep is the most time-consuming
part, as I ball it up by hand and ferment it
for 24 hours. I use a traditional Neapolitan
dough recipe (flour, water, fresh yeast and
salt) and try to keep it as authentic as pos-
sible, but I also like to be inventive with
toppings.”
What about the future? Becca emphasises
that “the positive feedback from customers
makes me feel warm and fuzzy inside... I've
got a few ideas but haven't decided where I
want to take them yet... watch this space!”
But Becca is not the only dynamic one-
woman entrepreneur at the Market in
Botley on Saturdays. She shares a house
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with Camilla Brown, co-founder of Young in Spirit. In Becca's words,
“We've had a lot of fun doing the markets together. It's nice living with an-
other woman also running a business; we encourage and motivate each
other.”
Once you've satisfied your hunger with some delicious pizza from the Ox-
ford Pizza Project, how about popping over to the next-door stall for a
unique drink? Camilla produces Col-
lagin, the world's first gin with added col-
lagen. I had to admit ignorance, having
only a vague notion of what collagen
was. The dictionary defines it as the
most abundant protein in your body, a
major building block of bones, skin,
muscles, and blood vessels, calling it the
glue that holds all together. Impressive!
“What's the history?” I asked Camilla,
who replied, “My aim was to mix the
worlds of beauty and booze together
and create a gin that could sit behind a
bar, but also on a beauty counter.” Each
bot-
tle
contains 100mg of pure collagen and
11 botanicals which have been cho-
sen for their anti-ageing benefits, such
as pink grapefruit, star anise, and va-
nilla. More recently, Camilla has add-
ed two variants to her range: Collagin
Rose, and Collagin Lavender & Elder-
flower. “Unfortunately,” she adds, “you
won't look younger; it's alcohol at the
end of the day... and when people
taste the gin, they realize that it's not a
gimmick... it is a quality, smooth, gin.”
So what inspired Camilla to dream
this up? She reports that she worked
in PR for some ten years, “creating
weird and wonderful campaigns to get
brands into the press.”
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In 2016, she had an idea for a new, 'anti-ageing' gin for a well-known hotel
company, which ended up going viral worldwide. Subsequently, in her
words, “after ten years of making other people famous, I decided to do it
for myself. So I quit my well-paid job and turned a PR stunt into reality.”
After many hurdles, Young In Spirit launched early in 2017. By the end of
that year, Collagin was stocked at a number of familiar High Street shops
nationally. In 2018, the Company appeared on Dragons Den, and as she
says, “the business went crazy.”
And then Covid-19 struck. Young in Spirit suffered as much as the next
small company ineligible for government aid. As a result, says Camilla, “I
decided to take matters into my own – sanitised – hands. I posted on social
media that I would personally deliver a lockdown deal consisting of a bottle
of Collagin and four free tonics to anyone in Oxford. I ended up doing over
50 drops during the first lockdown!”
The future for Camilla's singular product is hardly bleak. And here's a
Sprout exclusive: Young in Spirit is launching in Japan this Spring! Howev-
er, Camilla plans to continue operating her Collagin stall at Botley, empha-
sising that she “loves working next to her housemate, friend and fellow girl
boss, Becca Howard of Oxford Pizza Project.” She adds that “I've had to
turn down opportunities all over the world because as a one-woman busi-
ness, I wasn't ready. I am now.”
Ruth Cameron
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Annual Parish Meeting
– online on 18th March
In 2020 we were unfortunately unable to hold our Annual Parish
Meeting because of the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic, making
it unsafe for everyone to gather together in Seacourt Hall as usual.
This year the pandemic is still with us, and the Hall is currently
closed, but thanks to the wonders of Zoom we are now able to hold
our meeting online.
2021 Annual Parish Meeting online on Zoom,
7.30pm on Thursday 18th March.
Look out on the NHPC website at www.northhinksey-pc.gov.uk for the
full agenda, which includes the Zoom link plus a further link to
relevant documents on Dropbox.
All parishioners are welcome to join online. Attendees will have their
microphones set to mute unless they are presenting, asking or
answering a question. It won’t be quite the same as usual but it will
allow for plenty of participation.
The first half of the meeting will cover a variety of topics, including
updates on the local community response to Covid-19 and our
Climate Emergency plans. The second half will be devoted solely to
our plans for a new pavilion and other future improvements to the
Louie Memorial Playing Fields.
There will be open question sessions at the end of each, but please
send in any questions by noon on Monday 15th March to Sharon
Henley, our Parish Clerk via email clerk@northhinksey-pc.gov.uk as
there may be little time for additional questions asked on the day.
Please also feel free to send in suggestions for other topics of local
interest that you might like us to cover in updates during the
meeting, and we will try to slot them in where possible.
We hope to see many of you online at the meeting.
Councillor David Kay, Chairman, North Hinksey Parish Council
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Botley Seniors Lunch Club
– Christmas Hampers 2020
Dreaming of Christmas in the middle of summer? Botley Seniors Lunch
Club volunteers obviously were when it became increasingly apparent that
the pandemic meant we wouldn’t be cooking our traditional festive lunch
for local elderlies. Instead we thought it would be good to deliver
Christmas wishes and a hamper of goodies to our regular customers in
early December. The planning began in earnest on a sunny morning in
September when five volunteers met in my garden for coffee and a
planning meeting. That was the easy bit.
The first problem was to find addresses. I soon realised that ‘Club’ is a bit
of a misnomer, in that we don’t keep contact details – all local senior
residents were welcome to come along for a meal on the (pre-coronavirus)
days we cooked. We urged friends of friends to supply us details and
compiled a list. Had we included all our regulars? Were we risking
offending others? These were among the questions that kept me awake at
night!
Ah, funding. A call to our Treasurer confirmed we had some spare cash
and I applied for a grant from the Midcounties Co-operative Community
Support Donation Fund. The Co-op’s form-filling suggested that I wouldn’t
get a reply until early December (slightly panicking now – how would I
explain this to the Treasurer if we were turned down?) but the Co-op came
up trumps in early November. Thank you!
The first expenditure was on jute bags in which to put the goodies. These
could then be re-used by the recipients
and formed part of their Christmas
present. More considerations and
decisions – what to buy/when to
buy/what else to include/dietary
requirements/make or buy Christmas
cards/what to do for couples? I was in
danger of overthinking this.
A socially distanced Sewing Bee was
held to make pretty Christmas
decorations for each bag. The
volunteers enjoyed the chance to chat
and the felt hearts created looked
gorgeously sparkly and festive. Another
tick off the list!
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By the end of November I had taken delivery of, as well as storing, over
540 items, most of which were food bought tirelessly by Jackie W while
keeping a close eye on ‘use by’ dates. As well as ensuring that it stayed in
good condition, all that remained was to work out how to pack and deliver
the hampers in an appropriate manner while following government
guidelines. The solution for packing included a gazebo over my patio and
a strict appointment timetable for helpers. Several volunteers delivered
the hampers while I cleared up at home but they reported back on how
thrilled recipients were with their surprise delivery. Here’s a selection of
comments from the thank you cards we received:
‘… so kind and thoughtful of the Lunch Club and the Co-op, and, believe
me, very much appreciated.’
‘…such a surprise and raised my spirits during this difficult time.’
‘Thank you very much for the lovely surprise bag of goodies – a real treat’.
Several people phoned to pass on their thanks to the volunteers. It was so
good to hear how much our efforts were appreciated and we hope that
we’ll be in a position to re-open Lunch Club in the not too distant future.
Viv Smith
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The 4th Oxford Scout Group is moving
The 4th Oxford Scout
Group are large and
thriving with about
100 members
providing exciting,
fun and educational
activities that help
young people
develop the skills
they need to take an
active role in their
local community. We
have just vacated our
hut on Arnold’s Way,
which we built almost
50 years ago, even though it has many years of use left in it. We have had
to move against our wishes, to secure the long-term future of the group.
This is because of the new community centre project, even though
physically the scout hut does not need to be knocked down if the new
pavilion is to be built, and though North Hinksey Parish Council have no
use for our building whilst it tries to find funding for its project.
From March 2018 when we realised that the Parish Council’s project would
not work for the scout group, we worked with them to see exactly how the
new building would work, and to see if it could be changed to meet our
needs. After nine months of exhaustive and exhausting discussions, it was
clear that the scout group could not operate in the new building due to the
limited access, increased costs, inadequate facilities that fundamentally
don’t work for us and several other major issues. We were not actually
being offered the ‘like for like’ replacement of the scout hut we had been
promised and which had drawn us along so far.
We have explained the difficulties to the Parish Council again and again,
and have put forward a number of viable alternative plans, but since 2018
the Parish Council has refused to engage with the issues or consider the
alternatives. Unfortunately, either the current project works as a community
centre, or it works for a large and thriving scout group, but it can’t work as
both. It fails to meet its core requirements.
It is fair to say that for two years we have robustly resisted being forced
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out of our hut by every means possible. We owed it to the future
generations of young people who want to enjoy scouting and all it has to
offer. We have explained that if the Parish Council did not change its plans,
we would have to move elsewhere, because there was no other option for
us and no sense in discussing using a building we would not use. Our
experience is that much of what the Parish Council has said about its
project and the scout group bears little connection to reality, but we are not
equipped for a raging publicity battle to correct everything said against us.
We have a scout group to run, and we are all volunteers.
This has all been a time-consuming tangle of huge proportions, which was
made unnecessarily more complex when the Parish Council decided to
terminate our lease in June 2020. There was no need to, it was a protected
tenancy that would have continued indefinitely, whilst leaving the parish
council free to terminate it, if and when they needed to build their project.
The lease did not ‘expire’ as they suggest, they tried to terminate it with a
Section 25 notice sprung on us without any warning or discussion.
The scout group can’t agree to the new short term lease the Parish Council
have offered instead. It is drastically different from the previous lease in its
operation, and it imposes unnecessary, expensive and onerous personal
obligations on the trustees of the scout group. It removes existing legal
rights, and it is so severe in its effects that a special “declaration" is
required for the agreement to be valid. This declaration includes warnings
underlined and in bold type such as “If you commit yourself to the lease
you will be giving up these important legal rights: [with a list of important
statutory rights set out].”
The Parish Council recently voted to refuse to even discuss offering the
scout group a long-term lease with a break clause if their project gets
funding. The council has also refused to discuss with the scout group how
to escape the impossible situation we all find ourselves in right now, and
despite attempts by third parties to help start discussions. We do not think
this situation is acceptable.
Basically, the Parish Council are offering us two dead-end options or we
have to vacate our hut. The first dead-end is the new project, which can’t
work for us. The second dead-end is a lease until 2022 and a refusal to
discuss anything longer-term, which merely delays our inevitable
departure. We will therefore have vacated the hut by the end of February
as demanded by the Parish Council, in a Covid-safe way, to try to secure a
future elsewhere. This is a tragedy. It must have been possible for the
Parish Council to replace the pavilion in a way that does not force out the
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largest youth group in the area. There must have been a better way
forward.
We are however extremely grateful to Oxford Rugby Club who are
temporarily able to hire us their hall for the five nights a week we need. If
we are not given our hut back, which would be our first choice, we will try
to make the site our long-term home. The hall is not as good for us as a
purpose-built hut, and it is on the edge of our catchment area, but there is
enormous goodwill at the rugby club and we hope families can make the
transport work. This arrangement offers us the possibility of a positive
future in which we hope we can continue to thrive.
Trustees of the 4th Oxford Scout Group, Registered Charity No. 267799
[There are obviously differences in opinion between the Scout Group and
the Parish Council over the matters described in this article. For those
who’d like to delve further, the NHPC website (https://northhinksey-
pc.gov.uk) has a Scout Hut Lease background page. Editor]
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WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT THE COVID-19 VACCINE?
Healthwatch Oxfordshire wants to hear your views on the COVID-19
vaccine.
The county’s independent health and care watchdog is running a
survey asking people what they think about:
The vaccine itself
Information about the vaccine
How the vaccine is being delivered
Have your say here: www.smartsurvey.co.uk/s/CovidVaccine-yourviews
Healthwatch Oxfordshire will report what it hears to those in charge
of managing the vaccine delivery locally, to help identify if improve-
ments are needed. They really want to hear how people feel about
the vaccine, particularly the reasons why they decide to have or not
have it.
“All feedback is completely anonymous – we don’t need to know who
you are, but we do need to hear your views. Please do take a few
minutes to share your thoughts with us on this.”
For a paper copy of the survey, or a translated version, please call
01865 520520 or see www.healthwatchoxfordshire.co.uk
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Oxford Flood Alleviation Scheme
– an even fresher look
The Sprout reported in February that ‘the Oxford Flood Alleviation Scheme
(OFAS) will create a new stream with wetland wildlife corridor …. with a
gently sloping flood plain’. Hinksey and Osney Environmental Group
(HOEG) read with interest the Environmental Agency’s ‘fresh look’ at the
scheme and had this to say: A disadvantage of the scheme is the massive
amount of spoil to be taken away by road or rail. The good news is that
recent research by the scheme has confirmed that the extra volume (which
their proposed channel would provide) might not be needed for storing
flood water, the existing volume already available may be enough. The
OFAS scheme has since written that it will ‘undertake a separate [model]
run with a ‘smoothed’ section of flood plain’ that might, just possibly, get the
same result as Oxford University hydrologists and prove that the ‘massive
amount of spoil’ – at least 275,000 tons – does not need to be taken away
at all, whether by the A34 or the railway. If not, HOEG’s proposal of a
‘pumped underground pipeline’ from Seacourt to Kennington will come to
the rescue, with a fraction of the ground disturbance and still better value
than the present design.
Either would mean that 95% of the existing hedgerows and riverbank
wildlife corridors could stay, likewise precious flood plain ecology, meaning
a much simpler and less intrusive construction process. Even more
important, they could mean a design that passes through the planning
process and the compulsory purchase inquiry in no time at all, bringing
forward the moment when Oxford can sleep more easily in flood time.
This should be welcome news for the residents of Botley Road and the
Hinksey villages. There are other benefits along the 8 km route. The
interruption to the scheme caused by the need to replace the A423 bridge
at Kennington means, as reported in the Sprout, a chance to make
necessary changes. The old scheme showed water levels lowered in all
communities except Kennington, where they are actually raised by almost
the same amount. So this gives the relevant authorities the chance to
revisit a concept raised separately by Network Rail and by the Environment
Agency during the last ten years: taking water under the railway to
alleviate a long-term silting problem with one of the existing railway
bridges.
Further rationalisations are emerging from talks between the OFAS Team
and HOEG. The scheme is reconsidering the way it gets water past the
historic blockage at the Old Abingdon Road so as to reduce traffic
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disruption, and they have shown South Oxford residents a new three-
phase construction process. But, as with the bypass area, there is
potential to dust off an alternative that has been around since 2012, a
single phase, single bridge design that again will bring forward the
completion of the flood-way.
HOEG will continue to liaise professionally with the scheme, working for
simpler and (evidently) more economical solutions to elements that
contribute to the same reduction of flood risk to Oxford and its
neighbouring communities.
HOEG will be making a presentation to North Hinksey Parish Council at
their March 25th meeting. Further details of our concerns can be found on
http://www.hinkseyandosney.org
Chris Sugden
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How has lockdown been for you? We have all got frustrated at times at the
restrictions on our lives, and had to be patient. How much worse it must
be for those living with dementia who don’t fully comprehend what it’s all
about, and for those caring for them when there has been no relief from
their constant responsibility and the demands of being stuck at home.
When writing this we don’t yet know what the Prime Minister will have
announced on 22nd February about the easing or continuation of the
lockdown. Hopefully with vaccinations rolling out apace, a date for
lockdown let-up will now be in sight. Once this happens, it is likely that Day
Centres, such as that run by Kennington Memory Club, will be able to
resume their sessions. These will operate with everyone who comes into
the building having been vaccinated. There will also be all the necessary
infection control procedures in place, so members and their families should
have confidence that they are as safe as they possibly can be when at the
Day Centre.
We’re sure there may be potential members who would welcome the
chance to attend, having been severely limited in what activities have been
possible during lockdown, and contact with others outside their own
household having been very limited. Carers may also look forward to the
chance of a short period of respite
during the Day Centre hours. If this is
the case, please contact the
organizer, Helen, on 07853 883496 to
discuss getting a name on the waiting
list, so that you will be contacted as
soon as the start date can be
confirmed. More on our website:
www.kenningtonmemoryclub.org.uk
Isobel Birse
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Botley’s Green Spaces
Our local environment is unique and changes across the parish – from the
flood plains on the edge of Oxford to farmland up on Hinksey Heights.
North Hinksey Parish council looks after some of them and as part of our
work to protect and improve them we asked you, the people of Botley, what
you thought about all our main green spaces.
207 people filled out our survey – about 10% of all households. Many
thanks to all of you! We heard from a lot of people who clearly care
passionately about some or all of the local green spaces. Pulling together
all the views is a big task and work is ongoing, but we can share some first
results.
What did we learn? Firstly that people use green spaces a lot. Nearly half
the respondents said they used the Upper Louie Memorial Field at least
once a week, for walking with or without a dog, for meeting friends
(hopefully distanced!), for taking exercise or simply sitting and relaxing.
They may be up the hill and on the very edge of Botley, but the Louie
Fields, both Upper and Lower, are popular places. Even though they are
well used, 54% of people liked them for being ‘close to nature’. Perhaps
unsurprisingly other sites did better on that: 72% of people highly rated
Raleigh Park (used by 28% of respondents at least once a week), but for
‘getting down’ with nature there was a clear winner – 97% of those who
rated it said the Hinksey Heights Nature Trail was ‘good’ or ‘very good’.
(See photo.) The trail also scored 92% good/very good on ‘attractiveness’
and 83% on ‘peace and quiet’ – the Upper Louie Field scored only 36% on
that.
Most of the feedback was
positive. Only 3% of people
thought the Louie Fields
were bad for ‘safety’ (and no
one went for ‘very bad’). The
only site in the survey that
rated ‘very bad’ in how it is
looked after was the North
Hinksey Nature Reserve,
which became the favoured
hangout for a group street
drinkers for most of last year,
starting during the first
Lockdown. But only three
33
people gave it that negative review, and the site has now been cleaned up.
As with any green spaces there are concerns about dog mess and litter.
Nine people felt that the Louie Fields have a ‘serious problem’ with dog
fouling – though 29 thought that there were ‘no problems’. The nature
reserve (as above) and Brookes playing field were seen as worst for litter,
but the Brookes site is generally very popular and 71% saw no problems
on how it is looked after. We should perhaps be grateful that the University
is so relaxed about how local people use their grounds.
We also asked about the future – Would people like to see improvements?
Unsurprisingly again many said their favourite spaces were ‘fine as it is’ –
80% for the cemetery. The lowest such score (27%) was for the most used
site – yes, the Upper Louie Field! The support there is for more seating
and waste bins, and also for more trees and flowers, while numerous
people added calls in the comments box for the former skate park to be
revived.
Many other comments were about the current state of many local paths,
following a long wet winter and heavy use. The council will need to work
with others to look at how we can help restore some of these – this may be
a challenge for action as we emerge from lockdown.
Finally, it was interesting to see how many people were unaware of some
of the sites such as Tilbury Fields (where we planted trees back in
December), the Nature Trail, and North Hinksey village green. We are
working on a guide to local walks and will produce a map of these spaces,
along with a more detailed report of the survey findings. All these issues
will be discussed at our rescheduled green spaces workshop towards the
end of March. Chris Church
34
35
Keeping Going in Lockdown
Barricane: The Sky and Us
Rosy and Emily’s friendship
began at a leaving party. They
sat in a pub garden, watching
the river as it went dark, shar-
ing a bottle of wine and began
to sing harmonies –Radiohead
of course, this is an Oxford sto-
ry – and over the next few
years a close friendship and
tight musical partnership grew.
Emily, who works in environ-
mental sustainability, and Rosy
who is a nurse, have young
families but still make space in
their lives to write and re-
hearse their songs. They both
sing and play guitar. The two
different vocal parts dance and
weave around each other, and
it’s never quite clear who is
singing the melody or harmony – or even if it matters.
One night, while practising in Binsey Church, they met a woman who had
just split up with her boyfriend and had gone there for some solace. She
said the singing made her feel better and told her story. Rosy and Emily
wrote her a song, and she liked it so much she offered her services as a
photographer if they ever recorded anything, something they were already
considering.
The idea of recording an album grew. We have all found things to keep us
going through lockdown. For Emily and Rosy, their pandemic project was
to try and somehow record the album. During the worst of the Covid
surges, Rosy worked 6 days a week at the JR, training nurses and doctors
re-deployed to the wards, while Emily and her family needed to shield.
Their music became more important to them than ever.
Having chosen a name and built up a stock of original songs over the past
three years (more info on http://www.barricanemuaic.com/), they ap-
proached producer and multi-instrumentalist, Mac, to help develop their
sound beyond acoustic guitar and vocals.
36
37
They are very excited with the result. The album The Sky and Us by Barri-
cane is a journey through a range of musical vibes – from indie-folk, rock,
electronica and trip-hop, all tied together with vocal harmonies and themes
of existence, perspective, everyday magic and the natural world. It includes
For Caroline, the song that helped to start it all. Black and Blue is the
maiden single from the album and is going to be released on February 26.
In a way, most of our lockdown projects have had something in common
as we look forward to the Spring – trying, to various degrees and in many
ways to mend broken and battered hearts.
Rosy Piper
South View Shenanigans
Here are some Lockdown things we’ve been doing. First time round, with
sunny weather and longer days, it was so much easier! That was when the
baby learned to crawl, then he learned to walk and grew some hair. And
now he’s teaching himself to dance and learning to talk. I remade the tea
cosy. It was in rags since its last makeover, 20 years ago.
The whole household moved into a new dimension in a nearby tree, with
aerial walkways, a net for lying in, and a spaceship called Sonic Boom
from which all the baddies in the neighbourhood could be taken out.
This last Lockdown, with short dark days seems to have mainly involved
more sleeping on my part. But the evening we spent without electricity will
stay in our memories. We piled wood on the kitchen range and chopped
leeks and potatoes for soup by candlelight. I got down the oil lamps from
the top shelf in the larder, and gave them their first clean in thirty years.
38
The paraffin had evaporated, and of course you can no longer go and buy
it (or anything else) by the gallon in the local petrol station, so I’ll have to
find out how to replace it. Luckily we had loads of candles, so we were able
to play games by candlelight. It’s surprising how quickly your eyes adjust to
that mellow glow. Our five-year-old forgot to be afraid of the dark for an
evening, and keeps asking for a repeat.
The other highlight was the family Desert Island Discs by Zoom. About
twelve of us joined in from all over the country and as far away as France,
so there was only time for one disc each, and a few words about why you
had chosen it. It was nice to be reminded of all our shared memories, and
two hours passed in a flash. Some of us bothered to dress up, which
added to the sense of occasion, and hopefully there will be more gorgeous
outfits at the next one on 6th March.
And at last the days are getting longer, the bitter weather has eased up,
and the time has come to reclaim the garden from the rats and the weeds.
The end of lockdown is in sight, although still only on the distant horizon.
My phone is crowded with Signs of Spring, posted on WhatsApp by my far-
flung family, all rejoicing in the signs of new life. Ag MacKeith
TWO SPROUT AGMs ON ONE NIGHT
For the Company years 2018–2019 and 2019–2020
Tuesday 16
th
March, via Zoom
at 7.30 pm and 7.45 pm.
The first meeting should have taken place in Summer 2020, and the second later this
year. But the Board have decided to hold these two meetings now to avoid further
delay. The formal business will be held first, and any discussion at the end. To join,
first download https://zoom.us/ and then use the following link, or if that doesn't
work, use the meeting ID and passcode:
https://us04web.zoom.us/j/72950005828?pwd=bStJeEVYajAxb1pzS1g3Y2FUWk8wZ
z09
Meeting ID: 729 5000 5828
Passcode: xCxtj0
We will organise a party in the summer in place of the normal meeting and
when such things are allowed.
39
Don’t Be Fooled By Scammers!
There is a class of people
using the Internet to try to
steal money from other
users. To succeed in this
sphere, you need to be
amoral, ruthless, plausible
and technically competent –
in a word – a scammer.
Most of us are confident that
we are smart enough to avoid
being scammed, but every
year, thousands are
defrauded of millions.
In a previous edition of the
Sprout (September 2019)
your Editor shared the
experience of nearly being
cheated out of £6000.
Someone pretending to be
from BT Hub telephoned her
just as her Internet
connection went down. How
they managed that is a
mystery, and it left Ag receptive to the caller. Fortunately, she realised what
was going on just in time to stop the raid on her bank account.
There are half a dozen email scams on the go at the moment, some more
threatening than others, but the phone scams, once you get sucked into
them, are harder to detach yourself from.
Other phone scams include:
Calls apparently from HMRC, demanding payment for an outstanding
tax bill. However, HMRC never phones anyone with such threats, and
the best action is simply to hang up.
Calls from BT notifying a phone bill reduction. The caller will ask for
personal details which will be used to remove money from your bank
account.
Calls apparently from such as banks, Amazon and Facebook
apparently offering refunds. All you must do is to give your account
40
details, which you should not do. If you have any concern that such a
call may be genuine, check with the organisation apparently involved,
using another method of contact.
This kind of attack is common, widespread and can affect anyone. The
crooks usually attempt to get you to give them personal information by
dangling a bait whereby you are going to get some reward if you’ll tell them
what they want to know. Scams come via your telephone, or by email, but
rarely, these days, by letter, as paper communications leave a trail.
Electronic bank-transfers are very fast, and your money can be gone well
before you suspect something is wrong.
All honest citizens should bear in mind that if something appears to be too
good to be true, then it usually is. Disbelief in sudden good fortune is an
effective defence against scammers, as is having an answerphone facility.
I let all calls for which I don’t recognise the number go to my machine.
They don’t get beyond my recorded ‘Hello, we’re not here now….’ because
the crooks want to speak directly to you.
There are some useful websites such as “Hoax-Slayer” where you can find
information on which scams are doing the rounds. Talking to others who
have had similar experiences will also sharpen up your anti-scam
antennae. A quick look at Nextdoor North Hinksey will flash up a few
currently going the rounds, and ways people have frustrated them. It really
helps to be able to share your discomfort with a fellow sufferer.
Beware! – and be safe.
Tony Kerrison
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Randoms
Dog Fouling
The Sprout has received this heartfelt plea:
“Would you mind adding something short and punchy to the Sprout about
people cleaning up their dog poo on the Fields? These are the only places
people can legitimately go for exercise, and now that the running season is
starting up, they'll be in even more demand. It's really… ahem… shitty to
step in filth when you're trying to run off four months of sedentary and
crisps.”
41
Local Volunteers help the
Vaccination Programme run smoothly
Local volunteers around Kennington, Botley and Cumnor have generously
offered their time and transport to help the vaccination process go forward.
As a Patients Participation Group we have been very pleasantly surprised
at the number of people who have come forward – some even took holiday
leave from work. Volunteers have helped inside the practice, cleaning
seats and helping patients, others have stood out in the cold and wet to
direct people to parking spaces, help them out of their cars when needed
and support them into the vaccination centre. One even took the practice
wheelchair home to sort out the flat tyres.
The generosity of people when coming for their vaccinations has also been
overwhelming, with sweets and biscuits given to volunteers.
Our secretary’s own personal involvement began when it was clear their
next door neighbour, who is 80 and partially blind, could never take the bus
rides into Oxford and out again to get there, since the vaccination centre
for the whole Botley and Kennington Practice is situated about four miles
from Botley. She would have had to walk a mile to the nearest bus stop,
and then walk half a mile between bus stops in Oxford. This would also
involve the risk of exposure to COVID on the four buses. So he and his
wife offered to drive her down.
This expanded to contacting the surgery and the PPG and asking the doc-
tors to let the PPG know of any who had no means of getting to the clinic
for their vaccination. Over two weeks a team of 48 volunteer drivers have
taken 65 people to have their vaccinations who could not have got there
otherwise. One of the drivers asked: “Is it your faith that has enabled you to
set this up?” The most unexpected and seemingly go-getting people for
themselves have been very keen volunteers. There is almost a race
among drivers to be the first to offer a
lift. There has been a very generous
spirit around this. It means that the
elderly and infirm do not feel neglect-
ed or isolated when it comes to this
matter.
Libby Purves wrote in The Times on
February 1 that her own experience
has been similar: “This afternoon you
will find me halfway up a healthily
42
draughty corridor, with a song in my heart as I repeatedly say, “Welcome,
follow the arrows!” to an incoming line of gallant octogenarians and, “That
way to the car park, have a nice day!’ to those departing. No buzz com-
pares to this. It is pretty good to hear on the news that the UK’s vaccine
distribution is outrunning most of the world, but nothing beats being there
as a tiny cog in the process, seeing the first patients emerging from the
drizzling gloom.”
However this is, as they say, a marathon not a sprint. We have also been
asked if we can, when needed, take medical equipment to patients’ homes,
currently mainly pulse oximeters.
We will need volunteers for a good part of this year but it is being done with
good will and the desire for us all to get back to some sort of normal.
Botley/Kennington Patient Participation Group thanks each and every one
of you – we couldn’t do it without you!
Sylvia Buckingham (Chairperson)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
LOCAL PLANNING APPLICATIONS
P20/V3257/FUL
Gateways, Harcourt Hill.
Replace existing house, plus
additional dwelling & garage in rear
garden.
22 December
P21/V0042/HH
43 Cedar Rd. Rear single storey
extension.
4 January
TDD: 1 March
P20/V3366/FUL
New Barn, Stanton Road.
Build new 4 bedroom dwelling with
attached garage.
11 January
Target Decision
Date:
8 March
P20/V3259/HH
46 Laburnum Rd. Single storey rear
& side extension, top floor loft
conversion. Plus car parking.
13 January
TDD: 10 March
P21/V0097/FUL
32 Lime Rd. Change of use from a
small HMO (use-class C4) to a large
9-bed HMO, associated
hardstanding and creation of a
dropped kerb.
21 January
TDD: 18 March
P21/V0138/FUL
6 Elms Parade. Change of use from
Use Class E to hot food takeaway
use. Addition of external flue.
(Intention - Fish & Chip shop).
27 January
TDD: 24 March
43
New Covid test centre set up in Wantage
From 23rd February the Beacon in Wantage will become a Covid-19 test-
ing site for public-facing workers and volunteers, even though they are not
displaying symptoms. Around 1 in 3 people with Covid-19 have no symp-
toms but can still pass it on and so regular testing of public-facing workers
will help to stop the spread of the virus.
People in these roles who can’t work from home and don’t have access to
workplace testing will be able to book a weekly test at the centre. Tests
take only 15 minutes with results available within an hour.
South and Vale District Councils have worked closely with partners across
Oxfordshire to help set up this rapid symptom-free testing site to help stop
the spread of the virus, protect the NHS and vital social care services, and
ultimately to save lives.
Employees from Thames Valley Police and Oxfordshire Fire and Rescue
were the first to be tested at the centre, followed by early-years workers
and council staff in key public-facing roles. The 15-minute test being used
is a lateral flow test which involves taking a swab of the back of the throat
and inside the nose. The swab is then given to trained staff at the test
centre who process the test on-site. Results are given within an hour by
text message or by email. Anybody who tests positive is provided with de-
tailed information on how to self-isolate, along with advice on the support
that is available for them through their isolation period.
Cllr Helen Pighills, Vale of White Horse District Council Cabinet Member
for Healthy Communities, said: "We're really pleased to have been able to
put forward the Beacon, along with over a dozen staff from the South and
Vale District Councils, to help with this vital part of the local response to the
pandemic. I'm also delighted that the programme has been expanded to
include all public-facing workers much earlier than originally anticipated.
"I strongly encourage all those who leave home to work or volunteer to get
a test as soon as you can. There is financial support available for workers
who test positive and have to self-isolate."
The Beacon is an arts and community centre in Wantage. It is run by the
District Council but has been closed during the pandemic. It will be used as
a symptom-free test centre for as long as is required to help stop the
spread of Covid-19.
44
Organizations: If your organization is not listed here, please send details to
editor@thesprout.org.uk or telephone 724452 for inclusion.
1st Botley Brownies
Girls aged 7–10
2nd Botley Brownies
Girls aged 7–10
4th Oxford Scout Group
Beavers, Cub Scouts, Scouts
15th Oxford Scout Group
Boys and girls welcome
Baby & Toddler Group
Badminton Club
BikeSafe. B4044 community
path campaign
Books on Wheels R.V.S.
Botley Boys & Girls F.C.
Football teams from ages 8-16
Botley Community Larder
Botley Health Walks
Botley Library
Botley Seniors Lunch Club
Botley Singers
Cumnor Choral Society
Cumnor Chess Club
Cumnor & District
Historical Society
Cumnor Gardening Club
Harmony InSpires, Ladies'
Acappella Singing Group
Hill End Volunteer Team
Let’s Sing! – singing group
Morris Dancing – Cry Havoc
45
North Hinksey Preschool
and Childcare clubs
N Hinksey Art Group
Weds 10 – 12.00 W.I. Hall Tel: Christina 07931 707997
N Hinksey Bellringers
Contact: Ray Rook 01865 241451
N Hinksey Conservation
Volunteers
Meets at weekends Contact Voirrey Carr 07798743121
voirreyc@aol.com
N Hinksey, Friends of
Annual Cricket Match & Walk. Douglas Bond 791213.
N Hinksey Parish Council
Sharon Henley, clerk@northhinksey-pc.gov.uk
N Hinksey Youth Club
Weds at LM pavilion, Daz on 07791 212866 or see F’book
Oxford Flood Alliance
R Thurston 01865 723663 or 07973 292035
Oxford Flower Arranging Club
4th Thursday Cumnor. Dympna Walker: 01865 865259
Oxford Harmony Men's
Acappella singing group
Meets Wednesdays 7.45 pm at Seacourt Hall, Contact
pro@oxfordharmony.co.uk
Oxford Otters
Swimming for people with disabilities. Sundays, twice
monthly. Contact: Alan Cusden 723420
Oxford Rugby Club
Boys and girls from 5, kevin.honner@ntlworld.com
Seniors, training etc jbrodley@chandlings.org.uk.
Oxford Sports Lawn Tennis
Club, N Hinksey
Family club: Melanie Riste 848658
melanie_riste@hotmail.com
Raleigh Park, Friends of
raleighpark@raleighpark.org.uk
Saturdads at
Botley Bridges
Fun activities and trips for Dads and under 5’s
10 am–noon 1st Sat of month. Tel: 243955
Seacourt Hall Management
Committee
Michael Cockman 07766 317691
michael.cockman@gmail.com.
Shotokan Karate Club
6+ WOCC twice weekly Martyn King 07836 646450
Walking for Health
West Oxford Bowls Club
Contact details on www.westoxfordbowlsclub.co.uk
West Oxford Taekwon Do Club
Mon, Thurs 6.30-8pm, MA gym, contact Chris Hall 01865
570291 www.wotkd.co.uk
West Oxford U3A
(Uni of the 3rd Age) http://westoxfordu3a.org.uk/
West Way Day Centre
Mon & Fri 10–3pm, Field House, 07740 611971.
oxfordshirehub@royalvoluntaryservice.org.uk
Women’s Institute (Botley)
Weight Watchers
Thursdays 6pm at SS Peter & Paul Church Hall Banso tel:
07779 253899 bansob@aol.com
46
Halls for Hire (eventually!)
Botley Baptist Hall
West Way Place
Contact: Rev Kalyan Das
Tel. 07841 867967
The Rosary Room
Yarnells Hill, Elms Rise
Contact Maria Brown,
Tel: 01865 247986.
SS Peter & Paul Church
Hall, West Way, Botley
Contact: 07946 463741 or
osneybenefice@outlook.com.
Women's Institute Hall,
North Hinksey Lane
Contact: Val Warner
Tel. 01865 245273
Seacourt Hall, West
Way Place, Botley
Contact: Lottie White on 07452 960100,
or email admin@seacourthall.org.uk
Pa v il i o n, Ar n o ld’s Wa y,
Elms Rise, Botley
Contact: Darren Blase 241254
louiememorialpavilion@gmail.com
Oxford Rugby Club,
North Hinksey Village
Contact:. Mary Bagnall
mary.bagnall1@btinternet.com.
North Hinksey & Botley Churches
Times of Services (once resumed) and Contacts
St. Lawrence, Church of England, North Hinksey Lane
1st, 2nd, 4th Sunday, Sung Eucharist 11.30 a.m.
3rd Sunday, Matins 11.30 am
St. Peter and St. Paul, Church of England, West Way
2nd Saturday each Month, 4–6pm Messy Church for children and their carers
1st Sunday of the Month, 9.30am All Age service of Holy Communion
All other Sundays, 9.30am Holy Communion with activities for children
Every Wednesday, 10.30am Holy Communion at Field House
Rev Clare Sykes, Tel. 01865 242345 or rev c la r e @b t in t e r ne t .c o m
Our Lady of the Rosary Church, Roman Catholic, Yarnells Hill
Saturday 6.30 pm. Mass
Sunday 9.15 am Mass
Fr Daniel Lloyd. 07584 323915 dlloyd@portsmouthdiocese.org.uk.
Botley Baptist Church, West Way Place
Sunday Service 10.30 am.
Mid Week House Group 8.00 p.m.
Family Worship Service 5-6pm on Saturday
Rev Kalyan Das 07841 867967 www.b o tle y b ap t is tc h u rc h . o rg
Calvary Chapel
Sunday services held at Botley School 10.30–12 noon
Pastor Philip Vickery 01865 864498
calvarychapeloxford@yahoo.co.uk; www.calvarychapeloxford.org.uk
47
Sprout
March 2021
Still in lockdown, though not for much longer, and a couple of Zoom
meetings to look forward to:
Sprout AGMs for 2019 and 2020 on the same night:
Tuesday 16
th
March, 7.30 and 745 pm.
Annual Parish Council Meeting on Thursday 18
th
March
See https://northhinksey-pc.gov.uk and the newsletter
through your door. Your chance to let them know how
they are doing!
NHPC Green Spaces forum has been postponed
till the end of March.
Some useful phone numbers
See North Hinksey Parish Council website for a comprehensive list of all
the local support groups currently in operation, as well as advice on
asking for help and looking to volunteer. It’s at https://northhinksey-
pc.gov.uk/covid-19-community-hub/ If you have something to add, please
email the website manager Councillor Lorna Berrett on
lberrett.nhpc@gmail.com.
Church contact details opposite.
Oxford Hub’s email is: hello@oxfordhub.org
Phone: 07957 105129 (9-5pm Mon-Fri)
Citizens Advice Adviceline on 0300 3309 042
Woodlands Pharmacy: 01865 242649
Lloyds Pharmacy: 01865 247023
Age UK Oxfordshire offers a new telephone support line for older people.
Leave a message on 01865 411288 and they will call you back.
Nextdoor North Hinksey is a local chatroom full of help and advice.
Anyone already on it can invite you to join, or contact the Sprout
Finally, two handy Facebook pages:
The Botley Notice Board (OXON)
and Oxford Covid-19 Mutual Aid group